Fruits Rouges & Co has recently signed a partnership with the Swiss company Insolight. Based in the Hauts-de-France region, the producer and processor specialized in small fruits wants to “strengthen and expand the French production of small fruits. We believe that the dynamic agrivoltaic solution proposed by Insolight is a perfect tool to achieve this and better manage weather hazards,” explains Julie Fournier.
The objective of this partnership with Insolight is “to increase the market share of French small fruit production and to give consumers the opportunity to choose local fruit with positive energy.” Several Insolagrin solutions are already implemented in Europe on agricultural crops such as raspberries, strawberries and cherries. Fruits Rouges & Co is now the third partner to join the Global Partnership Program (after Migros and the Swiss RE Foundation).
A communication campaign has been planned to promote the production method and “these small fruits with positive energy.”
Crop protection and energy production
The Insolagrin agrivoltaic solution developed by Insolight offers “a dynamic adjustment of light for better protection against hot weather. The fixed cover of the semi-transparent roof serves to protect against rain and hail.” But the solution also allows for the production of renewable electricity “on a large scale, without compromising agricultural production, in places where the use of standard PV systems is not feasible.”
Better protection at a lower cost
“The Insolagrin solution allows farmers to benefit from better crop protection at a lower cost. Depending on the investment model chosen, they can benefit from the electricity for their own needs or resell it by feeding it into the grid. A typical installation produces about 1000 MWh/year/ha (1GWh/year/ha), or the electricity consumption of 250 to 300 households. These figures obviously vary depending on the geographical area.”
Tests have been conducted on raspberry crops by Agroscope (Swiss Federal Experimental Station for Agricultural Research).
For more information:
Fruits Rouges & Co
1 Rue Jean Bodin
02000 Laon
Phone: 03 23 28 49 49
fruitsrougesandco.com
www.insolight.ch